ATHENS, Ohio -- The third MBA Small Business Consulting Competition kicked off last week with a reception in Ohio University's Baker Center Ballroom. Nearly 200 attendees-students, local business members and university officials and faculty-gathered to help get the competition underway.

The competition pairs teams of Ohio University MBA students with regional companies to provide the firms with specialized consulting. This year 26 businesses will be working with competing teams drawn from a pool of 110 students.

Several members of the university and business communities spoke to the group, praising the competition. Joy Padgett, director of the Governors Office of Appalachia, noted the benefits the contest has brought to Appalachian Ohio businesses and Ohio University students since its pilot year in 2001.

"The project has been significant in helping support the region's diverse companies, which are the backbone of regional economic development in Appalachian Ohio," Padgett said. "We are grateful for the competition. The marketing and financial plans and other technical assistance the students provide are crucial to both the businesses' development and the students' learning process."

Before the competition ends, the businesses will receive, collectively, more than $550,000 of free consultation.

Sarah McCarty, an organizer of the competition and a counselor at Ohio University's Small Business Development Center (SBDC), said the evening was both a celebration and an opportunity to get down to business.

"We got to interview our clients and set up meeting times," said Jill Theeler, an MBA student team member. "It was encouraging to see their eagerness to have us help them."

Student teams will be judged on the quality of their work and the value each team provides its client over the 10 weeks of the competition. The first round of judging begins March 5 when a panel of clients and Ohio University faculty will pick the top finalists.

"Before the second round," McCarty said, "students will have one week to implement any changes recommended in the first round. Then on March 13 they will go before a panel of business officials, and the winners will be announced that evening."

The students will work on projects such as strategic planning, operational efficiency studies and financial analyses for various types of businesses such as a cereal manufacturer, a window manufacturer and a company that operates a ferry across the Ohio River.